Review: Doom

You are likely wondering why it took so long for a Doom review to show up on this site. One of the first shooters heck it was one of the first games I ever played. So when this was first announced I was very excited. In a world full of generic shooters it’s nice to have something that strays from the popular and tries to be different. There’s no regenerating health, no map radar, no scopes, no huge clips that you can reload. Just loads of blood and action. I wanted to savor the game instead of plowing my way through to get a review out. Sometimes when you plow through a game you can’t truly enjoy the experiences in the game.

When I first turned on the game and heard the metal riffs I thought to myself this is Doom, this is the classic game I loved to play as a child. Despite some texture pop ups Doom graphically is one of the best looking games of this console generation so far. Blood stains the floor, every demon looks, and every level is designed flawlessly. Graphically this game is very close to perfect. The reason you play Doom though is the action. This combat is perfect. You will never find a shooter better as the game is quick and ruthless. The combat makes you extremely satisfied after a large battle and there are times you don’t stop moving and dodging until you kill every single demon in the area that you are in. Through the 13 levels the games get more difficult as you continue with each level, each boss battle is just as hard and includes a puzzle in which you have to find a way to defeat each boss. The last boss was extremely difficult and was far from a letdown. It’s an extremely rare occasion for a shooter to have boss battles in the game and I must admit, what a refreshing change. Each gun feels different and each gun has its own strengths and weaknesses and can be upgraded in many different ways. Old friends like the super shotgun and BFG return and fit like an old glove. The glory kill system is a great yet violent way to finish off the demon you’re facing. Much like Mortal Kombat’s fatality each kill ends violently. You won’t play Doom for its story you will play it for its violence.

Multiplayer has the same faced paced classic arena battles familiar that you would have in Quake and Unreal Tournament which is a great change from the norm these days. Hours can be sucked into Multiplayer and you will not get sick of it mainly because we haven’t seen this type of gameplay on consoles ever, or at least that I can remember. Modes in multiplayer are Soul Harvest which is familiar to kill confirmed in the popular Call of Duty series. A demon rune will appear at the first blood in the game and will keep alternating until the game is over. Freeze tag which plays like the real life game just with guns, rather than killing the person you are after you freeze them in a block of ice. You win the game when an entire team is left frozen. If you want something very different to play this is it. Warpath is their take on king of the hill which is a single point that is constantly moving around the map never staying in place. You must defend that point to score points and win. The other 3 modes are the common team, deathmatch, and domination. The last mode is clan arena, in which all picks are gone from the map. You are unable to heal yourself and there will not be any respawn when you die. You win when all enemies are dead. Snapmap is another great thing about this game. This aspect of the game is a user based level design which could get you playing this game years to come. To me this game could be a contender for the game of the year.

This review is based on the Xbox One version of Doom. The game is also available on PC and Playstation 4. You can find more details about the game at http://doom.com/.

The Verdict

Gameplay: 9.7

This combat is perfect. You will never find a shooter better as the game is quick and ruthless.

Presentation: 9.5

Despite some texture pop ups Doom graphically is one of the best looking games of this console generation so far.

Value: 9.8

With snapmap and all the great multiplayer modes, you could be playing for years to come.